phrasal verb · neutral
carry about
/ˌkæri əˈbaʊt/car·ry a·BOUT
to have or keep something with you; to keep thinking about something
Examples
“He always carries about a small pocket knife.”
“She carries about a constant worry that something will go wrong.”
“I carry about a mental list of things I need to do every day.”
Band 8 sentence
“He tends to carry about a lingering anxiety that slightly undermines his confidence in interviews.”
Collocations
- carry about a tool/knife
- carry about a worry/concern
Word family
Common mistakes
confuse 'carry about' with 'carry back' and say 'The smell carried me about to childhood'→The smell carried me back to childhood
use unnatural literal translation: 'I carry about my phone' (acceptable but awkward)→I carry my phone around / I carry my phone with me
Say it for a higher band
5keep with me→6carry around→7+carry about
Synonyms
carry around
keep on you
Easily confused
carry around
“He carries around a list of goals he hopes to achieve.”
Related words
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